“To redefine marriage is discriminatory towards those who hold the sincerely held belief that it is a sacred institution between a man & a woman.”
In further explanation, McCarter said his opposing vote on the issue of same-sex marriage "was motivated by the defense of religious liberty, not just for churches and faith-based charities but for all individuals."
"I believe Senate Bill 10 leaves the door wide open for an onslaught of lawsuits forcing institutions and individuals to choose between violating strongly held religious beliefs or financial uncertainty. I believe many businesses will choose to go out of business rather than violate those beliefs. Our churches and faith-based charities will be put in an untenable situation." said McCarter.
"The promises by proponents of the same-sex marriage law have a hollow ring to them when we examine what happened after similar promises and guarantees were made two years ago when the Civil Union Law was passed. ...Catholic Charities and Lutheran Services lost contracts with the state for adoption services. Decades of service to the citizens of Illinois were abruptly ended because the organizations would not violate their religious beliefs and comply with the new law. The organizations didn’t discriminate against same-sex couples. They had rules in place not to place a child with any unmarried couple, regardless of sexual orientation."
McCarter noted that his constituents clearly indicated they were opposed to legalizing same-sex marriage. "Individually, each of us is blessed with a free will. People have a right to live as they choose but they do not have the right to redefine marriage for everyone else," said the state senator.
